PTI Punjab resignations in next few days

LAHORE - Resignations of PTI Punjab Assembly members will be submitted to the speaker in next few days as two to three members are out of country and will be reaching tomorrow (Tuesday), informed Mian Mehmoodur Rasheed, PTI parliamentary leader in the provincial assembly. Mehmood, who is also the Opposition Leader in Punjab Assembly, while talking to The Nation on Sunday, claimed, “I have received the resignations of all the party members but two to three members who submitted their resignations with me earlier are out of the country and reach tomorrow and as soon as all the PTI assembly members gather in the provincial capital, the resignations will be submitted to the speaker”. About differences over resignations, he insisted, “There are no differences over the issue of resignations in any chapter of the PTI and few opportunists cannot represent the entire party”. It may be mentioned here that Gulzar Khan, a PTI MNA from Khyber Pukhtunkhawa, while announcing a forward bloc against the resignations claimed he had the support of more than a dozen MNAs. However, senior party leaders claimed that Gulzar Khan had only two MNAs by his side of which one was elected on general seat and reached the parliament reserved seats for women. They also claimed that one of the two had contacted the Khyber Pukhtunkhwa chief minister for a meeting with him. Gulzar Khan, who is a retired bureaucrat, had joined PTI before 2013 general elections. He was elected MNA from NA-4 Peshawar. PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi, who submitted resignations of PTI parliamentarians to the National Assembly Secretariat, said he had not counted how many of the 34 party lawmakers had resigned. He added that two or three MNAs were out of the country and would submit resignations on their return. Ishaq Khakwani, PTI senior leader commenting over the differences regarding resignations claimed, “I cannot utter the word differences as there is no such thing exists among the party ranks”. He added, “Two or three members mean nothing and they should resign from parliament and go for by-elections to test their popularity without PTI ticket. Khakwani claimed, “Gulzar tried to entice some of the party parliamentarians but no member except one elected and another women reserved seat member promised to rally behind him”. According to another veteran party leader, PTI Chairman Imran Khan during the core committee meeting which decided to opt for resignations had told the opponents of the option that they could leave the party at any time after tendering their resignations as they reached the parliament on PTI tickets.